IMATAG: an unbreakable watermark to protect our images

Data protection is a real concern for photographers who want to control their work. Imatag is a powerful and effective tool for marking and tracking our precious images.

Whether we are professionals or enlightened amateurs, the protection of our images remains a real headache. There are more or less effective solutions such as PixelRight or EXIF.co, but these cheap solutions offer only a low level of security with the only benefit a deterrent effect. The digital tattoo offered by Imatag sets the bar very high with a very powerful digital marking system that is invisible to the naked eye, unlike the classic “watermark” that makes the watermark visible in photos. With the Imatag solution, there is no visual difference to the naked eye between the original image and the protected image.

You do not see it yet, an undetectable powerful tattoo is present in this picture. A screen capture or a change in the image can not remove it.

The information hidden in the image is binary data interpretable by a computer that a human can not read directly. Imatag’s unique pixel marking technology with an indelible and invisible watermark specific to each photograph prevents erasure of the metadata or its modification by anyone other than its author or rights holder.

Retrieved from the Internet, the image was immediately identified by Imatag. The card clearly indicates the certification of the image, the identity of the author and the information concerning the photograph.

These robust digital fingerprints allow you to find any protected image even if the image is retouched, cut, cropped or undergoes changes in contrast and color changes.
The operation of the Imatag system is simple and accessible via any web browser. After online registration, the site offers to download images immediately to protect them. During the loading process, the images are marked by Imatag with a unique identifier per image.

Each imported image can be shared by email or via the main social networks. Imatag imports the metadata contained in the IPTC data of the images.

Once the images are marked, a window invites to share the images via Facebook or Twitter or to download again the protected files on his hard disk to rebroadcast them once watermarked. The images are still hosted on Imatag’s servers and accessible at any time by the user who can always share them via Twitter, Facebook or email.

Each image has its identity card which will be used especially in case of research for the authentication of the image.

Each image has its identity card which will be used especially in case of research for the authentication of the image.

A first level of use allows to download up to 1GB of images free of charge with the Imatag protection system, a public portfolio, a private photo library and an image search system. Subscription premium mode (100 GB) adds the internet tracing service. Accessible via the Web, an installable version in the form of a plug-in for Lightroom would be under development. To be closely followed as this data protection solution is developed by a French company based in Rennes.